Angels Will Try to Get Over Hill

Most playoff contenders--teams with legitimate postseason aspirations and those on the fringe of the race--spend late July and early August trying to bolster themselves by adding a major impact player or a spare part.

Then there are the Angels, who are apparently blessed with so much pitching they can afford to give it away. Or throw it away, as they did when they released veteran right-hander Ken Hill before Monday night’s 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox before 23,078 at Edison Field. The win ended a five-game losing streak.

The Angels also demoted struggling right-hander Brian Cooper to triple-A Edmonton and will recall top prospect Ramon Ortiz to start tonight’s game against his idol and fellow Dominican, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez.

At first glance, the Angels cutting ties with the oft-injured and unreliable Hill makes about as much sense as a guy who hasn’t eaten in two days tossing a day-old loaf of bread because it isn’t fresh.

No, Hill didn’t bring much to the rotation. He was 5-7 with a 6.52 earned-run average in 16 starts, averaging less than five innings a game, and his arthritic elbow began to flare up last week.

But with Kent Bottenfield traded to Philadelphia, Seth Etherton, Kent Mercker and Tim Belcher on the disabled list, the young starters getting hit hard in a month that began with five consecutive losses and the Angels fading in the American League West, how can this team afford to discard any starting pitcher who is still functional?

The reaction of left fielder Darin Erstad may have best summed up how Angel players felt about the move.

“We did what?” Erstad said, when told of Hill’s release. “I thought he was pitching pretty well.”

Angel decision-makers did not.

“It’s a performance-driven business,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “And Ken’s performance is not what we hoped it would be.”

Stoneman and Manager Mike Scioscia strongly dismissed any notion that Hill’s release coincided with the white flag being raised over Edison Field, even though the Angel rotation, amid a grueling 27-game stretch against playoff contenders, now consists of Scott Schoeneweis, Matt Wise and Ortiz. The Angels don’t have a fourth or fifth starter right now, because Jarrod Washburn left Monday night’s game in the sixth inning because of a sore left shoulder and was put on the disabled list.

“I don’t care how old a guy is or how much experience he has if he has the ability to pitch every fifth day and keep us in games,” Scioscia said. “I have confidence this group will give that to us.”

They lost that confidence in Hill, whose inability to pitch into the sixth inning put too much of a strain on an overworked bullpen, and whose performance was erratic at best.

Hill, who won only 18 games after signing a three-year, $16-million contract before 1998 and was considered the staff ace entering 2000, spent seven weeks on the disabled list because of a strained rib-cage muscle in May and June, and his chronically sore elbow made it difficult to find consistency.

He pitched well in his return from the DL, holding Seattle to one run and four hits in six innings on June 28, but gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings to the Mariners in his next start. Hill had two solid starts against the Dodgers and Padres in July and was bombed by the A’s and White Sox in his next two.

“They didn’t know what I was going to give them from start to start,” Hill said after exchanging hugs and handshakes with teammates Monday. “Some days I felt good, some days I didn’t.”

Hill never felt great.

“I’ve been in pain for three years, man, and it ain’t going away,” he said. “This whole year has been a grind, even when I pitched well. I’m mentally tired, because my arm is not allowing me to do the things it can do. If I’m 100%, I know I can beat the best, because I have. But I can’t compete [at that level] any more.”

Hill, 34, thinks he can still pitch, and he said he would consider playing again this season, but only for a contender. He did not seem too surprised--or broken up--by his release.

“I’m not disappointed, because I was thinking of hanging them up anyway,” Hill said. “I just want to go out on a positive note. I don’t want to leave the game being released.”

Stoneman said he tried to trade Hill but found no takers. No one claimed Hill when he passed through waivers, so the Angels will be responsible for the balance of his $5.6-million salary.

“Ken has given us everything he’s had, but unfortunately, he didn’t take us deep into games,” Stoneman said. “We have pitching depth, and it’s real. At some point, you turn the page and move on. This was simply a question of a veteran guy not being able to give us the innings we need.”

As Hill cleaned out his locker, Washburn and Cooper, long faces on both, came over to say goodbye. Hill cracked a huge grin and tried to cheer them up. It was almost as if Hill was doing the consoling.

He could not mask his pain entirely, though. And this pain was not in the elbow.

“I wanted to help this club win, and I didn’t do that,” Hill said. “I’ve been here 3 1/2 years and done nothing, and that bothers me.”

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On the Decline

A look at Ken Hill’s record and earned-run average with each team he has pitched for:

St. Louis, 1988-91, 1995: 29-39, 4.23

Montreal, 1992-94: 41-21, 3.04

Cleveland, 1995: 4-1, 3.98

Texas, 1996-97: 21-18, 4.11

Angels, 1997-2000: 22-28, 4.95

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ANGELS 4, BOSTON 1: Mo Vaughn homered against his former club and Ron Gant had two solo shots as Anaheim ended a five-game losing streak. Page 6